Do you hate your job, like really hate it? No doubt your search enquiries have led you to this article, and lucky you—we may just have a solution for you.
Identifying what you specifically hate about your job is not only a cathartic exercise, but can be useful for framing what you actually want to find in a new role.
In the iconic 90s romcom, 10 Things I Hate About You (modelled on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew), romantic cynic Kat writes a poem for a class assignment listing all the things she can’t stand about love interest Patrick. Spoiler alert: she loves him really. The same can’t always be said for unlucky employees, and if you really, like really, HATE your job, it’s probably a good time to make a change.
Here, we’re going to look at the 10 most common reasons people hate their jobs, and what these complaints reveal about the companies they work for. As much as it’s not great to work within a toxic work culture or despise your daily commute, the things you hate about your job actually reveal more about your own aspirations. So think positive! Balance the rant with real change, and you’ll be in your dream job in no time.
Let’s begin with the negatives (go on, get it off your chest), but along the way you’ll also find 10 ways to find your new happy place at work. Ready for the rant? Let’s go!
Use a screening tool like YOONO to search for any individual you might want to work for or with in the future. From seeing what they do in their free time, to checking out what other people have said about their management skills, now there’s nowhere for dodgy managers to hide.
01 - I hate my boss
Yep, number one of 10 Things I Hate About My Job is unsurprisingly ‘I hate my boss’, the most searched-for term relating to work woes.
Be reassured, you’re not alone. Over a third of workers in the UK legal industry are reported to despise their bosses, while a survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) identified 28% of workers questioned left a job due to a negative relationship with a manager.
Inspiring ‘I hate my boss’ songs, ‘I hate my boss’ podcasts, and no doubt a few t-shirts here and there, this common complaint is a tale as old as time. Where does it stem from? The manager-employee relationship is fraught with the tension between bowing to authority and wanting to carve out your own autonomy at work. Add to the mix a manager who might have a difficult personality, makes demands that exceed reality or fails to offer clear direction and support, and it’s a one-way street to workplace dissatisfaction.
I love my boss…
Crazy, right? If you’re in the midst of a toxic manager-worker dynamic, it can feel a distant dream to actually like your boss. It is possible, though, and if you really want to work for a boss that inspires and commands respect, you’ll need to do some serious research before you jump into your next job.
02 - I hate my colleagues
Eek, this is an awkward one. But apparently not uncommon at all. A YouGov survey of 650 disgruntled UK workers found that ‘dislikeable work colleagues’ topped the list of grumbles, even above hating the boss.
Whether it’s fellow workers who crack inappropriate jokes, eat smelly food at lunch, or talk REALLY LOUDLY on video calls, it seems the UK can’t stand an annoying colleague.
I love my colleagues…
A good way to process a simmering hatred of your fellow workers is to analyse exactly why you feel this way about people with whom you should otherwise share a feeling of camaraderie.
Are you working in a toxic work culture and are your colleagues stirring the pot? On a less extreme level, perhaps you feel isolated or distant from your colleagues, which can contribute to a sense of increasing disconnection from your place of work.
Time to look for jobs with the right culture fit for you. By searching for jobs with a higher level of personality compatibility, whether it’s with a happily introverted small business or a sociable bunch of corporate extroverts, you’ll start to feel more connected with your team members much sooner.
03 - I hate my commute
In 2023 52% of workers were reported to resent the daily commute, citing remote work as a heaven-sent solution to the time-sucking void of travelling to and from the office. The commute resentment brews even further in the Greater London region, with 76% going as far to say they would quit a job because of a long commute.
I love my commute…
OK, so maybe it’s a stretch to think that you could love your commute. But what if you could walk or cycle to work? Or what if a commute by car, bus or train was only for a few days a week? If you really hate your commute, you need to job hunt with remote working, flexible hours and eco-friendly travel in mind. You can thank us later.
04 - I hate the work culture
The psychological effects of hating your job can really build up, leading to stress, burnout and mental health issues, so it’s important to keep check of whether your work culture is a contributing factor. Toxic work cultures are alarmingly common, and can build slowly over time. Before YOONO it, office gossip is rife (a sure sign of team trust breaking down) and you actively start to HATE coming into work.
Toxic office cultures can reach nightmarish proportions (just look at Uber), and if you can identify multiple signs of a bad workplace culture in your own office there’s really no option but to jump ship.
I love the work culture…
Great work cultures are built on respect, positivity and support for all workers. If you’re craving a positive office culture this time around, you can do your research into prospective employers with a search tool like YOONO, or check out the company’s social media pages and Glassdoor reviews, to really get a sense of what their work culture is all about.
Are you working in a toxic work culture and are your colleagues stirring the pot? On a less extreme level, perhaps you feel isolated or distant from your colleagues, which can contribute to a sense of increasing disconnection from your place of work.
Time to look for jobs with the right culture fit for you. By searching for jobs with a higher level of personality compatibility, whether it’s with a happily introverted small business or a sociable bunch of corporate extroverts, you’ll start to feel more connected with your team members much sooner.
05 - I hate my tasks (I’m bored!)
Whether it’s mundane admin or mind-numbing data entry, we all have tasks we don’t particularly enjoy doing. But when the mundanity overtakes all of your prior enthusiasm, brewing boredom can quickly snowball into something more serious.
‘Boreout’ can result from a feeling of meaningless and lack of purpose in one’s work, and can have ongoing consequences for both employee and employer, including high staff turnover and alarming health conditions like anxiety, stress and depression.
I love my tasks…
Work should be filled with purpose, meaning and inspiration, but a little bit of mundanity is simply a fact of life (and work). If you’re struggling with chronic boredom you first need to evaluate your own expectations. For example, you might want a job that’s more exciting, or offers opportunities for training or travel. That’s definitely doable. But if you want a job that is genuinely NEVER boring, you’re unlikely to find that, as most jobs require some level of admin or tasks that simply keep the wheels turning.
Manage your own expectations, but set them high too. After all, life’s too short to be bored all of the time.
06 - I hate meetings
Meetings can be useful—bringing people together to discuss new ideas and make a plan of action, as well as solidifying team morale.
Meetings can also be the bane of one’s working life, like black holes where time, energy and motivation get sucked in and never re-emerge intact.
When people say ‘I hate meetings’, what they often mean is that their meetings lack something, like a productive schedule or motivational energy, or that they’re simply too long and inefficient. Sometimes an email really does do the job.
I love meetings…
Transform your distaste of team gatherings into something more strategic. For many people, meetings provide structure and routine in the working week, but this can also mean it’s easy to slip into the same old meeting habits.
Why not suggest a switch-up to the stale meeting formula, whether it’s meeting in a new location, like a cafe or communal area, or shortening video calls to a daily 15 minutes in which everyone has a round-table catch-up of updates and targets?
07 - I hate my job but it pays well
It’s difficult to take pity on the high-earning-yet-perpetually-grumpy individual who hates their job despite receiving more than reasonable financial compensation. However, if you hate your job but are paid a high salary, this can create a suffocating feeling of entrapment, especially if your salary becomes tied to financial obligations like paying a high mortgage.
I love my job (and it doesn’t pay as well)
Making the decision to move down the salary scale, retrain or switch careers can be a life-changing decision. According to research by the Learning & Work Institute, career changers can expect to earn 14% less when starting a job in a new sector, so you need to be prepared for a loss in earnings if you’re determined to make a drastic change to your work.
However, the positive impact on overall job satisfaction, reduction in stress and options for more flexible working hours usually win out over a high salary.
08 - I hate my job and it pays badly
Not a great spot to be in, but it’s natural to be in lower-paid roles at the outset of your career or after you’ve made a career change.
If you feel your salary is being restricted by reasons other than standard career progression, if say an employer has a reputation for paying staff poorly, squeezing longer hours out of the same pay package, or is paying some staff less than others based on discriminatory lines, you can contact the government-backed Acas helpline for support and information.
I love my job (and it now pays a little better)
We all have to start somewhere, but it can be frustrating if you feel your efforts at work are not being matched by an increase in pay. In this type of situation, the best attitude to have is a proactive one.
Training, whether provided in-house by your employer or through self-led learning (try LinkedIn Learning), is a great way to build skills and explore different avenues within your sector. You can also attend industry networking events to boost your connections (who knows where it might lead), and don’t be afraid to request a salary review if you have worked in the role for more than a year.
09 - I hate working in an office
According to research by investor Castleforge, 1 in 4 people said they turned down a job because they didn’t like the office environment. Uninspiring or downright depressing places of work lead to a deterioration in employee morale, creativity and communication.
I love working…at home…at a co-work…in a coffee shop…
Resolving why you hate working in an office comes down to whether it is a particular office environment that irks you, or whether you would benefit from a completely different type of work setting. Perhaps you find the noise and gossip of a traditional office too distracting, or maybe working in a monotonous warehouse of desk partitions is crushing your motivation.
Switching up your environment is a great solution for many job woes, because your environment really is all-important. Whether you can request an alternative working arrangement with your current job (good luck!) or need to look elsewhere to find the perfect setting, it’s worth visiting co-working spaces and experimenting with working remotely at home, before you make the leap.
10 - I hate working remotely
The COVID pandemic saw millions of UK commuters turn into remote workers overnight, but just because the number of those working from home is steadily rising (14% of the UK population were reported to be working remotely all of the time in 2024), doesn’t mean that everybody loves it.
Working remotely can increase a person’s sense of isolation and disengagement from their place of work, with some remote workers reporting sentiments of loneliness and lack of motivation.
I love working remotely!
The lack of clear boundaries between work and domestic life when working remotely can impact negatively on your mental health and work-life balance, so it’s important to ideally designate a set-apart area for your work. No more working from the kitchen table if you can help it!
If you’re feeling a real sense of office FOMO, you may also need to widen your social net. Join local societies or clubs, look out for social events advertised on Instagram and Facebook, or set up a supportive get-together for fellow remote workers or freelancers.
You can also experiment with different remote working locations, from coffee shops to co-work hubs. Mixing it up sometimes can really make a world of difference when you work remotely!
I love my job!
We all love to have a good moan (don’t you feel better now?), but there’s no point venting without landing on a real solution.
If you have the job grumps, we hear you—work isn’t always a walk in the park. Perhaps you’ve been inspired by some of our tips to make some ‘tweakments’ to your existing job, or maybe YOONO it’s time for a real change!
At YOONO, we’re all about finding the best match for people at work. Whether you’re an employer or jobseeker, you can use our AI-powered search to generate reports about individuals you’d like to hire or work with.
Simply type in someone’s name and see exactly what their vibe is. Weekend warrior or midweek partygoer—discover their online personality, and meet your perfect work match.
